


Mistletoe Kisses

by Liz_87



Category: Casualty (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:54:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 14,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24536539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liz_87/pseuds/Liz_87
Summary: A few too many drinks at Christmas leads to more... Series 7/8 rewrite.
Relationships: Lisa "Duffy" Duffin/Charlie Fairhead
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

By the time they reached Duffy's mum's house about half an hour after leaving work he was starting to get a bit nervous. It wasn't that he'd never met her mum before - they'd met briefly on several occasions over the years that he and Duffy had been friends. However, Charlie had heard Duffy complain many times about her mum's critical nature when it came to who her daughter chose to spend time with. 

Exiting the car he followed Duffy up the path towards the front door. So this was her childhood home - it looked small but well maintained, clearly her mum was a lady with high standards. 

Duffy barely had chance to announce her arrival back home before Peter came running into the hallway. 

"Mummy! You're home!" 

He threw his little arms around her as she crouched down to greet him. 

Noticing she wasn't alone he looked up. 

"Uncle Charlie! Come look what santa got me!" 

He grabbed Charlie's hand and dragged him through to the sitting room to see his haul of presents. 

Duffy turned to her mum who had entered the hallway after Peter. 

"I hope it's ok that I asked Charlie to spend the day with us? I hated to think of him spending Christmas alone." 

"Of course Lisa, there's plenty of food and it'll be nice to get to know one of your colleagues better. You spend so much time there yet I hardly know anything about any of the people you work with."

Duffy sighed. She hoped Charlie was ready for the inquisition that awaited him... 

-x-

They were sat drinking coffee when Peter wandered back in the room with something in his hand. 

"Mummy, why is there a piece of tree in your bag?"

She saw he was holding out the mistletoe she'd stashed away earlier. 

"Well, um..." She stumbled beginning to blush. 

"It's mistletoe Peter. You use it at Christmas for special mistletoe kisses. Go stand next to your mum and hold it over your head." Charlie instructed. 

Peter did as he was told and Duffy lent down to give him a kiss on the cheek. He then went over and did the same to his gran. 

"Uncle Charlie your turn now. You should get mummy to give you a kiss!" 

He took the mistletoe from Peter and looked over at Duffy awkwardly. He gave her a questioning look and they both lent in towards the other. Unlike their earlier kiss which had felt so warm and natural, this time they misjudged their aims entirely - both going for the same cheek - and ended up clashing lips together. They momentarily forgot where they were, distracted by the feel of their lips meeting, so the kiss went on a beat longer than was proper for a kiss between friends. 

As they parted Duffy cleared her throat, a blush appearing on her cheeks and hurriedly suggested that they should all start clearing the table. 

-x-

A couple of hours later, the table had been tidied, the washing up done and the adults were all settled down in front of the TV with some drinks while Peter played with one of his new toys before it was time for him to go to bed. 

"That was a delicious meal Mrs Duffin, thank you. I can see where Duffy got her excellent cooking skills from." 

"That's very kind Charlie. Please call me Kate, Mrs Duffin sounds so terribly formal! Well it's good to know that Lisa was actually listening when I was trying to teach her, it was hard to tell at times - she was such a daydreamer! I was glad when she decided to take up nursing, it gave her something worthwhile to focus on rather than just boys and pop music. I was worried for a while there that she wasn't gunna end up amounting to much at all."

"Mum, please!" 

"Oh shush! So Charlie, what's Lisa like as an employee?" 

"She's one of the best nurses I've ever worked with. She's fantastic with the patients and relatives. Since becoming Sister she's taken on the leadership side of things really well. I couldn't ask for a better colleague and friend." 

Kate couldn't help but notice the repeated glances Charlie gave Lisa and the blush that was creeping up her daughter's cheeks. Hmm... Very interesting! She had been wondering throughout dinner if there was something more between Lisa and this delightful young man she'd brought home than they were saying. And then there had been that business with the mistletoe... Most curious indeed! He certainly seemed a lot better prospect than the various cretins Lisa had previously brought to meet her over the years..! Time to do some more digging...

"And you Charlie, what's a charming gentleman like you doing almost spending Christmas day by himself? Surely there must be a queue of girls fighting over you!"

"Well, um, the job doesn't really leave a lot of time for that sort of thing. The shift patterns aren't very relationship friendly. I would like to settle down one day though, wife and kids, that sort of thing. I fear I'm getting close to missing the boat on that though..."

"Nonsense! You never know, the perfect girl might be staring you right in the face and you just haven't realised it yet."

Duffy noticed that Peter had fallen asleep on the rug and saw the ideal way to change the topic of conversation. 

"Oh dear, looks like all the Christmas magic has been too much for Peter! I'd best get him up to bed." 

As she rose from the sofa Charlie placed his hand on her arm. 

"No, let me. You don't want to wake him. I'll carry him up for you."

Following Charlie up the stairs Duffy indicated the room at the end of the hallway. 

"Peter is sleeping in my mum's room, my old room here is too small for the both of us to fit in there."

They got Peter settled into bed and Charlie looked over at the clock - it was 8.30pm. 

"Is that the time?! I really should be heading home. I've had such a lovely day. I'll just go thank your mum and then go."

The walked downstairs and entered the lounge only to find that while they'd been upstairs Kate too had fallen asleep. They quietly tiptoed to the door and pulled it open. The scene that greeted them was thick with snow and it was still falling heavily from the sky. 

"Seriously Charlie, you can't walk home in that! Just stay here tonight, mum won't mind." 

"Um, ok, if you're sure?"

"Oh come back inside, it's freezing with the door open!"

They headed back through into the kitchen and sat at the table there so as not to disturb Kate. Duffy pulled a couple of glasses out the cupboard and opened the bottle of whisky that was sat on the counter. 

-x-

They spent the next couple of hours chatting and giggling over the various goings-on at work. The bottle of whisky now sat almost empty in front of them. 

If asked, neither of them could be sure who made the first move but they suddenly found themselves kissing. Not the tender kisses of earlier either, this time their kiss was filled with urgency and need. 

"Mmm, that was nice." Duffy said as they parted, her words slightly slurred from the alcohol she'd consumed. 

"Just nice? I think I can do better than that!" Charlie chuckled. 

"Why don't we take this somewhere a bit more private and you can try to convince me." She purred, taking his hand and leading him in the direction of the stairs and her bedroom. 

-x-

When Charlie awoke a couple of hours later he was instantly confused. The bed he lay on felt unfamiliar and he didn't recognise the room he was in. His head was pounding and when he went to sit up he found he couldn't move. 

He moved his head to see why and saw a mass of tangled reddish curls spread out over his chest. He frantically searched his brain. How had he let this happen? She was his best friend! Yes alright, she was gorgeous and he'd had many a fantasy dream about bedding her but that's where those thoughts were supposed to stay - in his head! His mind wandered to a conversation he'd had the previous day "Christmas is never a good time for making big life changing decisions." So much for taking his own advice! 

He had to leave. He couldn't face her. Not here, not like this! It was going to be awkward enough to see her at work. She was going to hate him. He'd ruined everything. 

He somehow managed to wriggle his way out from underneath her and got dressed without waking her. He spotted a notebook and pen laying on the desk by the bed. He should leave her a note. He picked up the pen and pulled a piece of paper out of the book. 

'I'm sorry...'

What was he sorry about? Sorry he'd slept with her? Sorry he was leaving without speaking to her? Sorry he'd ruined their friendship? He really wasn't sure so he just left it at that, folded the paper and tucked it partially under the pillow. He then crept down the stairs and out the front door.

-x-


	2. Chapter 2

She rolled onto the note as she woke up. Her mind was fuzzy and she looked at it confused. 'I'm sorry'? Huh? Then it all came flooding back. Why had he left without speaking to her? Had it meant nothing to him? The idea hurt deeply even though she couldn't quite explain why. It was just drunken foolishness. Right? Just something that happened due to too much whisky and loneliness. 

She'd wondered for a while what it would be like to spend the night with him. She never thought he'd feel the same way too. That he'd see her as anything other than just a friend. A friend who was a single mum as well. Not exactly the perfect wife material that they'd talked about a few weeks back. 

She wiped away a tear that had rolled down onto her cheek and got out of bed. 

-x-

The next time she saw him was later that day at work. He was sat in admin with his back to her. Despite ingesting vast amounts of coffee and some aspirin there was still a dull throb at her temples which wasn't helping her mood one bit. It was now or never though, at the very least they had to acknowledge each others existence. 

She walked over and picked up some paper off the desk next to him.

"Hi"

"Oh, hi"

"So..?"

"Um... Yeh... I'm sorry... About, you know... Um..."

"Yeh you said that already Charlie. I thought you were better than that!" She replied sharply before walking off. 

That conversation pretty much set the tone between them. Things didn't get any better going forward, in fact they got worse. The fact he had to break it to her that her ex Andrew, Peter's dad, was returning to work in the department as consultant didn't help. She'd gotten really angry at him over that and stormed off before he had any chance to try and explain. 

Losing his one true confidant meant that the feelings of loneliness, isolation and depression that had been slowly building in Charlie became increasingly stronger. He wanted to talk to her, hell, he'd tried repeatedly to get her to talk to him, but she was practically blanking him, she'd only speak to him about work. He was also starting to suspect she might have gotten back together with Andrew. He couldn't really blame her, she deserved happiness. Even if he felt that Andrew wasn't the right bloke to provide that for her. Maybe he just felt that way because he was jealous. It didn't really matter though - he'd had his chance with her and he'd well and truely blown it. 

-x-

She was so confused! Why did all this have to happen now? Andrew re-entering her life had further complicated things. At first she'd allowed him in, letting him have the chance to get to know their son. She felt she owed him that at the very least. But then he'd started turning on that charming smile with her - the one she'd fallen for when she first met him. He'd even gone so far as to invite her out for a meal after work. She'd agreed to go, hoping it would take her mind off all the problems she was having with Charlie. At the end of the meal he'd leaned over to kiss her. She'd let him kiss her but the whole time she'd been unable to get her mind away from Charlie...

-x-

The next morning she woke up feeling dreadful. It was mid-afternoon before she stopped vomiting for more than an hour. She vowed never to eat there ever again. She'd never had food poisoning like it! 

After three days she still wasn't feeling any better so she decided it was probably best to go see her doctor. She got her diary out of her handbag - she kept all her important numbers in there - and as she was flicking through it something caught her eye. She stopped flicking, went back a couple of pages and counted again. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6... The realisation hit her...

"Oh no!"


	3. Chapter 3

She stood staring up at the flat, her hand hovering over the doorbell. Duffy hoped that she was in. She needed someone to talk to about all of this. No point talking to her mum, she'd just get angry and, well, she couldn't exactly speak to Charlie. Mostly because that would require actually speaking to him at all. Which wasn't really an option currently. No, this was her only choice. She took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. 

She turned to look out onto the carpark. The door was answered fairly quickly. 

"Oh Duffy! What a lovely surprise!"

She turns and Megan immediately spots her red rimmed eyes and tear stained face. 

"Oh pet! I think you best come inside." She said, pulling the younger woman into a hug as she guided her inside. 

Once inside Megan instructed Duffy to sit on the sofa while she made them some tea. When that was done she came and joined her on the sofa.

"Now are you going to tell what on earth the matter is or do I have to guess?" 

This set off another round of tears. Duffy stutters, trying to compose herself. 

"I don't even know where to start Megan!"

"Well the beginning is usually a good place."

"I suppose Christmas then, Christmas was when this whole mess started..."

-x-

She reached for a tissue to blow her nose. Her tea was beginning to go cold but she couldn't bare the thought of drinking it. So far she'd told Megan all about the fun day they'd had together and how he'd had to stay coz of the bad weather. 

Megan sighed. She had a feeling she knew where this was going. She decided to step in and cut to the chase. 

"Enough beating around the bush! Let me guess, you two slept together didn't you?"

Duffy nodded. "Yeh... I thought he liked me. We were drunk. Oh I'm such an idiot!" 

Megan pulled her into a hug. "Oh pet I thought you'd gotten over that crush. Have the two of you spoken about what happened?"

"By the time I woke up the next morning he'd gone. There was a note but that's all. I tried to speak to him at work but we just ended up arguing." 

"He did what?! You wait til I get my hands on him!" 

"I really like him Megan. I thought he liked me too. I know we'd been drinking but it meant something to me. Why doesn't it mean anything to him? Maybe it does but he thinks I'm not interested because I shouted at him? Oh it's all so bloody complicated! It doesn't help that Andrew's come back to Holby too."

"Andrew?! You swore to me that you weren't going to have anything to do with him ever again. Please tell me you've not let him worm his way back into your bed as well!" 

"No! Megan! I've been letting him get to know Peter. I owe him that, he is Peter's dad afterall. But I'm starting to think he wants more than that. He, um, asked me out for dinner with him last week. I thought it would be nice, give us a chance to sort things out going forward in terms of him spending more time with Peter."

"But that's not what he had in mind?"

"No, he kissed me. It was a perfectly nice kiss but... Oh... All I could think about was... Well... Urgh!" She dropped her head into her hands. 

"Oh I don't know what to do. Do I take him back? He clearly wants us to get back together. It would give Peter more stability, both his parents together. I'm pretty sure Charlie doesn't want me. Though, to be honest, I'm not sure Andrew will either when I tell him the truth."

"What truth? That you slept with Charlie? Why on earth would that be any of his business?" 

"We didn't just sleep together that night though. We um... Well... Oh Megan, I'm pregnant." She didn't have any tears left to cry so just placed her head in her hands and sobbed. 

"Oh honestly, how could the two of you let that happen?! You both know to be more careful than that! You especially! You've already learnt the hard way afterall. Or at least I thought you'd learnt your lesson. Apparently not it seems! You're going to very quickly find yourself with a reputation young lady." 

"We didn't plan for it to happen though. Maybe if I'd been at home it might have been different but I don't tend to leave that sort of thing lying round at my mother's house!"

"I thought all you modern independent women were on the pill these days anyway."

"Well I was for a while but guys haven't exactly been falling over themselves to ask me out these last few years so I stopped bothering." 

"Well it's all a rather moot point now anyway. No husband and two children by two different fathers, you have to admit it doesn't look very good Duffy. In my day folks had a word for women like that!"

"Megan!"

"Truth hurts doesn't it?! You should probably have thought about that before you let your heart rule your head."

"I came to you for help Megan, not a lecture. If I'd wanted a lecture I would've gone and spoken to my mum! Maybe it would be best if I leave now."

"No Duffy sit back down. I'm sorry. Let's talk about this sensibly. The first thing you need to do is talk to Charlie."

"No, I can't! He won't want to talk to me after the way I've been towards him recently."

"He has a right to know. It's not like you can hide this from him forever. It's best he hears it from you directly rather than just working it out for himself when it becomes obvious to everyone."

-x-

Duffy left Megan's full of plans to talk to Charlie the next time she saw him. Unfortunately plans are all very well and good in theory but in practice can often prove harder to carry out. 

Things finally came to a head a couple of weeks later. After watching Charlie get into an argument with Rob over a patient Duffy knew that she had to speak to him. She followed him into his office, he was in a foul mood. She was about to have a go at him for the way he'd spoken to Rob and to her when all of the sudden he just lost control and broke down in front of her. How had she not noticed that he was struggling so much? How had she missed that her best friend was falling apart right in front of her very eyes? Some friend she'd been! Too obsessed with her own problems to notice. 

They'd spent a long time that night just sat on the floor of his office together. She'd convinced him that he needed to see someone, needed to speak to a professional to help him. 

The one thing she didn't tell him was her secret. She couldn't tell him now. It wouldn't be fair to add that burden onto his shoulders too. She'd just have to keep it to herself a little while longer. Give him time and space to sort his head out.


	4. Chapter 4

The shift started well. They'd spoken in his office about how his counselling was going and had arranged to have dinner together after the shift so she could share her news with him. 

When she'd found him snoozing on his desk, she'd gently woken him and they had continued their conversation. She was glad that they were finally starting to repair the mess they'd caused to their friendship. She couldn't help but worry about him. He seemed to appreciate her concern. As she went to leave him to carry on his work he reached out for her hand to thank her. She smiled and their gazes locked for several seconds. Maybe things really would turn out ok. Maybe he'd even be happy at the news. 

But as was common in Holby - the wheels soon came off spectacularly. 

-x-

Duffy was preparing to start cleaning the oil off the wounds on the patient's face and chest. He'd been involved in a traffic accident, the van he'd been in had come off the road and crashed before bursting into flames. He'd been lucky to make it out alive, his companion hadn't been so lucky. 

As she picked up the cotton wool she saw Mike and a man she didn't recognise burst through the door and tell everyone to step away from the patient. The unknown man then introduced himself as a government scientist and declared that the oil the patient was splattered in was radioactive. 

The second she heard that word she could feel the panic rising in her chest and her stomach start to do somersaults. She had to get out of there! 

"I can't be in here..." She whispered, the panic making her voice tremble.

"Sorry, did you say something Duffy?" Mike responded. 

"I can't be in here Mike. Please. You have to let me leave."

"We need everyone to stay in here til the risks have been fully assessed." Came the reply from the government scientist. 

"You don't understand. It's dangerous for me to stay here. You have to let me leave!" 

"Duffy, are you pregnant?" Mike asked gently. 

She looked to the floor and nodded.

Mike turns to the scientist. "Right, I want her out of here now. No arguments, just make it happen."

-x-

Charlie was rather surprised to see her heading in the direction of the decontamination showers so quickly. He thought the scientists were still checking the level of risk. He guessed that maybe they were releasing non essential staff who had been in the room but not dealing with the contaminated patient. As she walked past him he reached out a hand towards her arm. She jumped in surprise, clearly distracted. 

"You ok?" He asked.

"Yeh I'm fine. All good."

With that she left to go shower and change her clothes. 

-x-

After ensuring the rest of the department had been fully evacuated Charlie stood lent against the desk in reception. He had made himself and Duffy a cup of tea. He was starting to wonder where on earth she'd gotten to, she'd been in the showers for ages. Resus had just been evacuated and he saw Rob and Ash heading in the direction of the showers. As they approached he overheard part of their conversation. 

"Well that was a surprise, I didn't even know she was dating anyone. I bet Peter's excited to be a big brother." Rob said. 

"Yeh makes a change for someone to be able to keep their private life to themselves for so long in this place!" Ash replied gloomily.

Charlie's brain struggled to process what he'd just overheard. Duffy was pregnant?! Surely that couldn't be right, she would have told him! They must be mistaken. He thought back to the last time he'd seen her in his office that morning. He pulled up her image in his mind - hmm maybe she had been looking a little chubbier recently, he hadn't really been paying enough attention to be sure. This led him to remember his earlier conversation with her, she'd said she had news... That's what she'd planned to tell him! Well he just hoped that Andrew treated her better this time around. He was genuinely pleased for her even though it hurt that he'd made such a mess of their chance at a relationship. Oh well, she'd clearly made her choice and it wasn't him, he'd just have to get used to that. 

Looking in the direction of resus a thought suddenly occured to him. The radioactive oil! Oh no wonder she'd looked so out of sorts earlier, she must have been so scared. 

His thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of her exhausted looking figure entering the reception area. He looked her over more closely - her hair was damp and lying limply across her shoulders. The scrubs she was now wearing were so baggy that he couldn't really see her figure properly to make out if there were any changes. 

He handed the cup of tea to her and they sat for a few moments discussing the fallout from the day's events. As they walked towards his office he reminded her of the fact she'd had news she wanted to share with him. She smiled fondly at him. 

"Oh yeh, I did." 

"Do I need to be sitting down for this?" 

"Um, possibly. I'm, um, I'm pregnant Charlie."

"I know." 

Her face morphed into a shocked grimace. Boy, gossip really did travel fast round here! 

Before she could speak again, Charlie continued. 

"Sorry, I should be congratulating you. I hope everything works out well for you and Andrew. Peter must be so excited too! Well, I best be getting on." 

With that he left the office. She tried to call after him, to tell him he was wrong but he didn't turn round. 

-x-

A week had passed and she still hadn't been able to speak to him privately enough to correct his assumption. 

Charlie walked over to his locker and saw an envelope stuck to the front with his name written on it in an oh so familiar writing style. He took it down and opened it. It was an appointment card. He was confused. Why had Duffy left an appointment card for him? It was for an ultrasound scan the following day. He flipped the card over and on the back she'd written - "Please be there, we really need to talk. D x" His mind quickly began to kick into gear, if her scan was tomorrow then... He quickly did the maths in his head. He smiled softly at the conclusion his mind drew. 

-x-

He'd found her sat in admin chatting excitedly with Sandra. Well Sandra certainly looked excited, if anything Duffy just looked overwhelmed. He caught her attention and held up the envelope. Her eyes held so many questions. He nodded his head and smiled, he'd be there.

He didn't have any further opportunities to talk to her as the department was soon overrun with people as the result of a disturbance in a local neighbourhood. A few fights had broken out and things were on the verge of getting out of hand when he suddenly heard Maxine shout "fire!" and the alarm began blaring. He started to try to evacuate the people around him when there was a huge explosion from the direction of the main doors. 

From then on everything descended into a state of near chaos. Charlie was running round the department, trying to peer through the smoke and fire to ensure everyone got out safely. As he once again entered the carpark with some people he was grabbed by Josh. 

"There you are! I was worried when I couldn't find you. Is everyone out now?" 

Charlie surveyed the carpark - ticking off the staff in his mind. He could see Ash, Mike, Sandra, Max, Norma and Rob. But no Duffy. She must be here somewhere. He looked around again, beginning to become agitated. 

"Josh, where's Duffy?!" 

"She must be around somewhere. She's probably helping some patients." 

Charlie indicated all the staff they could see. There was still no sign of her. He turned back towards the burning building. 

"Oh god she must be still inside!" 

He started to run back up the ramp. Josh chased after him and grabbed at his uniform. 

"Charlie no! Leave it to the professionals. They'll find her."

"No! She could be hurt, she might be trapped! I need to find her."

Josh could see that his friend was really freaking out. 

"Charlie its too dangerous to go back inside. You could get hurt too!"

"Josh I have to help her. She's pregnant! It's my baby. I can't just abandon her!"

Josh sighed. He knew there was no getting through to Charlie. 

"Ok, well you're not going by yourself. Let's go."

They ran back into the burning hospital and disappeared from view into the smoke.


	5. Chapter 5

The department was starting to become almost unrecognisable as they made their way further inside the building. Josh was desperately trying to get his barings whilst at the same time keeping track of Charlie and processing what his friend had told him outside. 

He'd heard the rumours that had been travelling round since the incident the previous week - everyone had by this point - but hadn't even considered that Charlie was involved. He knew things had been a bit weird between the two of them for several weeks now but had assumed they'd just had one of their stupid misunderstandings. 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Charlie duck under a fallen beam. He had been repeatedly screaming her name since they'd re-entered the building but so far they'd heard nothing in response except the constant blaring of the fire alarm. 

Both men stopped in their tracks when a scream pierced the air. Ok that was a good sign, well sort of... She was alive and she was breathing but they still couldn't see her. 

They followed the direction of the scream until the came upon a wall that had partially collapsed. 

They began to shift the pieces of debris that blocked their path. Their work was slowed down by the smoke that was starting to burn in their lungs. Charlie's hand suddenly hit something soft. It was a leg. 

The pace of their movements quickened as the panic truly set in. They'd not heard anything more from her since the single scream that had alerted them to her location. They finished moving the last pieces of debris only to discover it wasn't her. Josh set about helping the injured woman whilst Charlie continued to look around them. He quickly located a figure laid unconscious close by. 

He stumbled over and, holding his breath, he pressed his fingers to her neck. He'd never been so relieved to feel a pulse in all his years of nursing! He began to carry out a primary survey.

"Right, she's bradycardic, her resps are low, and has a GSC of 3, we have to get her out of here Josh, she's needs o2."

Josh had also finished assessing his patient. They couldn't wait for assistance to arrive. They'd have to get the women out by themselves. If they stayed inside much longer they'd risk losing consciousness to the smoke too. After taking one last breath of the fresher air nearer the floor they lifted the women and began to stagger towards the entrance. 

-x-

The next couple of hours passed by in a blur for Charlie. They'd been taken to St James' where they'd all been treated for smoke inhalation. Duffy had also suffered a burn to her hand, some bruising and a twisted ankle - amazingly minor injuries all things considered. The doctors had admitted her until her blood gases returned to normal, due to the smoke inhilation, and the risks that posed to both her and the baby.

He'd been told to go home but he couldn't bare to leave her, not after coming so close to losing her, losing them both. So he settled into the plastic chair at the side of her bed, his head resting on the sheet and his fingers wrapped around hers. 

He lifted up his head again and looked over at her. She looked like she was sleeping so peacefully. Everything suddenly became clear in his mind. 

"I love you, I hope you realise that. These past few weeks I've been such an idiot! Please forgive me. Give me a chance to make this right. You gave me such a fright today, I really thought I was going to lose you! You need to wake up, I don't even care if you shout at me."

He reached up to stroke her hair. 

"I just need you to open those beautiful eyes so I know you're ok." 

Without him being aware of what he was doing his other hand had come to rest gently on her stomach. He still couldn't quite believe that he was going to be a dad. It was something he'd always wanted but thought would never happen. 

"I'll take care of you, the both of you. I promise." He sighed sadly. "If you'll let me." 

A tear escaped down his cheek. 

"God Duffy, just wake up please." 

His head fell back down to the bed as he cried out all the pain that had been building inside him.


	6. Chapter 6

She finally awoke around dawn. At first she didn't know where she was or why. She tried to fit the shattered memories back together. Fire. An explosion. It hurt to breathe. Fear gripped her. A noise. What was that? Her body was pulling her back to sleep. She fought against it, scared to re-enter her dreams. Snoring. She finally realised she wasn't alone. She peered into the darkness. It was Charlie! Her mind calmed, she felt safe. She stopped fighting and allowed herself to drift back off to sleep again. 

-x-

When she next woke up it was mid-morning. She looked over and saw that Charlie was still sat by her bedside. She couldn't believe he'd stayed with her all night! She tried to speak but her voice was but a whisper. 

"Charlie..." 

The room was so quiet that hearing her voice caused him to jump. 

"Hey you, you're awake at last! How are you feeling? Does anything hurt? I can get something for you if it does." 

He knew he was fussing but he couldn't help it. The events of the last 24 hours had really shaken him. 

She rolled her eyes at him, an indulgent smile gracing her lips. She tugged at their joined hands, encouraging him to sit back down. Reaching her other hand up to his shoulder she pulled him into a hug. 

-x-

The next few hours were taken up with various tests. Charlie slipped out into the corridor so he could call Kate and reassure her that everything was ok. Thankfully Peter was too little to really understand what was going on so had simply accepted his gran's explanation that his mummy had to work a longer shift. There was no use worrying him unnecessarily. 

-x-

By early evening Duffy had started to make progress with putting back together her memories of the previous day. The only thing she couldn't remember was how she'd gotten out of the building.

"Charlie what happened after the explosion? I was helping a patient and then nothing..." 

Though he tried to hide it there was no mistaking the haunted look that briefly flickered in Charlie's eyes. He looked down, unable to meet her gaze. 

"We don't know for sure but best guess is that you tripped and that's how you damaged your ankle. What I want to know is what the hell you were doing in that part of the department?! You know better than to linger in a building when there's a fire!" 

"I had to help my patient, she was my responsibility." 

"What about your responsibly to our baby? Did you spare even a second's thought about that?!" 

After a few seconds of stunned silence he continued in a quieter voice. 

"Do you have any idea how much it terrified me to find you lying unconscious on the floor like that? I really thought you were..." His voice choked and he closed his eyes to block out the memories. 

"You found me? But, how?"

"I got outside and couldn't find you so Josh and I went back inside to look for you."

"You went back inside a burning building?! Charlie! You absolute..."

"I know, I've already had all this off Josh. What was I supposed to do? Just leave you there?" 

The look of anger melted from her face. 

"You risked your own life to save me? Oh come here you utter fool." She kissed him gently and rested her forehead against his. 

"I best not catch you giving Josh a similar thank you when we next see him!" 

"Idiot." She punched him lightly on the shoulder. 

"We've made a right mess of things between us haven't we?" She sighed as she moved her head to look into his eyes. 

"We really have." He reached out a hand to stroke her cheek. 

"Its time we had a proper talk." 

"I agree, you first."

"Ok, why did you walk out that night?" 

"Honestly? I don't really know. I panicked. I thought you'd hate me for what I'd done. We were drunk, I shouldn't have made a move on you like that... I couldn't bare the thought of you being upset."

"What do you mean you making a move on me?! I led you upstairs, not the other way around! Yes we were drunk and we both knew that we probably shouldn't and yet did it anyway." 

"I tried to explain the next day but you just jumped to conclusions and ran off."

"Yes, well, you were guilty of that too on a couple of occasions." 

"Finding out you were pregnant from others rather than you telling me really hurt. You knew yet took so long to tell me, why?" 

"I was going to tell you but I didn't want to heap even more stress on your shoulders. Then all the stuff with Andrew was messing with my head too. Megan was right though, I should have told you sooner..."

His eyes widened. "Megan? Megan knows?! What did you tell her?"

"Everything. I had to talk to someone."

"Oh bloody hell! I'm surprised she hasn't turned up on my doorstep armed with a slipper yet!"

"Oh she had much worse in mind than that..!" 

"I dread to think! Anyway, where do we go from here?" 

"I don't know. I don't want us to keep fighting. At the very least don't let it ruin the friendship we've always had." 

"Let's not kid ourselves, there's always been something lurking in the shadows. It just took most of a bottle of whisky to bring it kicking and screaming into the light!" 

She chuckled. "If I'd known that was all it would take I would have bought us a bottle years ago! I thought you just didn't see me that way. I didn't seem to fit your type." 

"And I resemble the well off, intellectual morons you usually go for do I?" 

She narrowed her eyes at him. "It's a good job I love you or I could take that personally!" 

It took her a few seconds to realise what had just slipped out. She opened her mouth to try and explain when Charlie placed a finger on her lips. 

"I love you too." 

No more words were needed as he captured her lips with his.


	7. Chapter 7

A few days had passed since the fire. Duffy had been discharged from the hospital and was recuperating at home. Charlie had decided to give her some space to spend time with her family and gather her thoughts before they had any further discussions about their plans going forward. 

-x-

It was early afternoon and Charlie had just finished eating his lunch when there was a knock at the door. He'd spent most of the morning dealing with reassigning his nursing team whilst repairs were made to the department.

He dragged himself up off the sofa and over to the door hoping that whoever had come round didn't have another issue with their placement that they wanted him to fix. He opened the door. 

Megan stood on his doorstep. He took a deep breath, this afternoon was going to be worse than he'd anticipated... 

"I honestly thought you were a gentleman Charlie Fairhead! That you knew how to treat a lady properly. Seems I was poorly mistaken..."

"Megan...". He rolled his eyes. 

"No, you're going to listen to me. That poor girl is in an absolute state because of you. I was hoping I'd gotten past the stage of mopping up her tears and I certainly never thought you'd be the one causing them. She's a vunerable kid, what on earth possessed you to sleep with her? Don't answer that, I know exactly what it was. You blokes are all the same, ruled by a part of your anatomy that isn't your brain!" 

She carried on walking through into the kitchen. She didn't turn to check if Charlie was following. 

"A bit of fun was it? Or did you just not fancy sleeping on the sofa? You see every day that actions have consequences. But I guess it's ok for you - you can just have your fun and walk away, no need to bother dealing with the mess you've left behind!"

Charlie was beginning to lose patience. 

"Look Megan I don't know exactly what she's said to you but I didn't even know she was pregnant til a week and a half ago. Even then it was another week before she told me that I was the father. I'm trying my best but it's complicated ok?" 

"Complicated? Well let me make it more simple for you - you slept with her and got her pregnant, now it's your responsibility to take care of her and the baby. Time to grow up Charlie!" 

"You honestly think Duffy is gunna let me look after her? She is beyond stubborn! I care about her very deeply, hell, I love her. I'd give her the world if she'd just let me. Is that what you want to hear Megan?"

"It's a start. She's spent her entire life being let down by the men around her. You need to show her that you're different."

"And how do you suggest I do that?"

"That depends, what you are willing to do for her, and the baby?"

"Honestly? Whatever she wants. I just want her to be happy. I want to be a part of their lives - hers, the baby's and Peter's. He's a great kid and I think he likes me too. I just don't know if she wants me. I mean, she said that she loved me but that was just after the fire so she might not have been thinking straight. I'd marry her in an instant if I thought she'd say yes. But I don't think she wants that, in fact I'm almost certain she'd say no. I don't think I could ever be good enough to deserve her but I'd do everything in my power to. When I couldn't find her in the crowd of people outside the other day my mind raced. I had to find her, fire or not. So I went in to look for her. Josh tried to stop me, but, I couldn't just leave her. I had to find her Megan and when I finally did, she was so quiet, so still..." 

He closed his eyes, he couldn't continue.

Megan placed a hand on his shoulder. 

"You need to tell her what you just told me."

"I tried to, she just got cross at me for going back into a burning building."

"You should know better than to give up so easily on someone so important."

She turned to head back towards the door. 

"Anyway I best be getting home. You think about what I've said. I believe you can put things right. But I warn you now, she turns up on my doorstep in tears again because of something you've done - you and I will have a serious falling out!" 

With that said she was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

Duffy was sat resting and watching TV when the doorbell rang. She considered ignoring it, not really feeling in the mood for visitors. She looked at the clock - it couldn't be her mother as she'd said she wouldn't be back with Peter until almost bedtime. The bell rang again, longer and more urgently this time. It was followed by a series of loud knocks. 

"Alright! I'm coming!" 

She contemplated trying to hobble to the door unaided but quickly thought better of it and heaving a sigh she reached over for the crutches that were leant against the sofa. 

She opened the door to reveal an agitated looking Charlie stood on the step. 

"What took you so long to come to the door?! Are you ok?" 

She rolled her eyes and motioned for him to come inside. As they walked through to the kitchen he reached out towards her to try and assist her. She glared and gestured at him with one of her crutches. He immediately backed off - arguing with her never ended well for him and he guessed that her being hormonal and armed probably wouldn't stack the odds any further in his favour than usual! 

Arriving in the kitchen she went to the sink to start making some tea. 

"Will you sit down? I can make those. You're not supposed to be putting extra weight on that ankle." 

He quickly realised the error of his words at the look that crossed her face. 

"No! I didn't mean... I wasn't implying that you're... I'm just going to shut up for a couple of minutes." 

"Good!" She replied shortly. 

She finished making the tea and they sat at the table in a contemplative silence. She reached over and squeezed his hand. She gave him a brief smile. 

"Sorry."

He took a deep breath. 

"I know you're probably not going to want to hear this but I do care about you and worry about you a lot. You and the baby. The thought of either of you coming to any harm scares me to death Duffy! I haven't been able to sleep properly since the fire - all I see is you lying there. Except in my nightmares you don't wake up."

"I... Er..."

"You honestly still think that what happened between us at Christmas meant nothing to me don't you? That it was just a night of drunken fun. That I'm just trying to 'do the right thing' because of the baby? Well I'm not! I've had feelings for you for a long time, I just didn't realise how strong they were til I thought I was going to lose you." 

"Then why did you leave? You must have known how that would look to me." 

"I didn't want to face your rejection, your embarrassment and hatred of me for what we'd done. I know that probably makes me a coward. I realise now that I handled the whole thing really badly and I just hope you can forgive me."

"You did." 

"And then Andrew came back. I knew I could never compete with him. He's Peter's dad afterall. So I backed off. The two of you seemed to be getting on so well. I tried to be happy for you, I really did! And if you ultimately decide that it's him that you want then I won't stand in the way."

"You say it wasn't just drunken fun but why did you sleep with me in the first place? You say you have 'feelings' for me, what the hell does that even mean?!"

"Well, why did you sleep with me?"

"I asked first Charlie."

"Fine! Look it probably won't come as a big shock to you that I fancied you when we first met. But, well, you were a junior nurse, I was your boss. It wouldn't have been right." 

"That's not stopped you in the past!"

"Well I wasn't warned to stay away from her."

"What?!"

"Nevermind."

"No, no, tell me, who warned you off?"

"It doesn't matter, does it?"

"It does to me."

"It was Megan. She said you'd been through enough already."

"Megan?! Why would she do that when she knew how I felt?!"

"She knew how YOU felt? What do you mean?"

"She guessed. Well, saw me. She said to stop being a silly girl fawning over you all the time. 'He's too old for you little girl'."

"She said that did she?"

"All I wanted was for you to notice me, to see I cared. That I wouldn't have broken your heart the way she did."

"So you, um, all this time, you just wanted to, um, and Megan knew this?"

"Charlie it wasn't like that. You're my closest friend. You helped me too, after, um, when I was, um..."

"And I did that because I cared about you too Duffy. I wanted to protect you, to look out for you."

"Well, that's all in the past now, what about the future?"

"Well that all depends on you."

"Me?"

"You need to chose - Andrew or me?"

"It's not quite that simple Charlie. I know it's not what you want to hear, but, please, just hear me out. Peter needs his father in his life, Andrew has mentioned he wants to get to know Peter and be there for him. But, that doesn't mean I chose Andrew. It just means that Andrew will be a part of Peter's life, as well as mine. I need you to accept that."

"I understand."

"I want to be with you Charlie."

"Me? You want me?"

"Yes. It's always been you, surely you knew that?" 

"How was I supposed to know? By reading your mind?"

"Well you know now." 

"I never thought I'd see the day."

"And?"

"Well, um, I feel the same about you too."

"You do?"

"More than you'll ever know."

Their gazes locked and they could see the truth of their words reflected in each other's eyes. Slowly, shyly, their lips met in a kiss filled with tenderness and promises of a future they'd face together.


	9. Chapter 9

Charlie walked into the bar and spotted Josh sat at a table waiting for him. It had been a while since they'd had chance to have a proper catch up - the team had been scattered to the wind while the building works were completed. As he reaches the table Josh stands and they hug. 

"I got you your usual." He says, handing the drink to Charlie. They both sit down. 

"So how's life treating you?" 

A broad grin appears on Charlie's face. He reaches into the inside pocket of his jacket and hands a photo to Josh. 

"That was taken yesterday." 

Josh looks at the scan photo and then across at his friend. He'd never seen him look so happy and proud. He hated what he had to do next but it had to be said. 

"So what's going on with you two then?" Josh asked. 

"We're going to have a baby." 

"Yeah I know that! I meant what's going on with you two as people? Are you together?"

"Yes."

"Then why haven't either of you said that to anyone?"

"Why should we?"

"Fair enough but people have been talking. I'm not going to name names but you should probably know what's being said." He paused. "People are questioning why she's not come out and said who the father is." 

"That's nobody's business except ours!" 

"Yeah I know that but..." 

"But what?" 

"The latest rumour going round is that she's not saying because she doesn't know. That she, well, that she sleeps around and got caught out." Josh looked down and braced himself as he knew Charlie was about to explode. 

"What?! I want names Josh! How dare they say that about her! They're supposed to be her friends!"

"Charlie, calm down! I didn't tell you to upset you. I told you so you'd have a chance to do something about it before the department reopens next month. What I don't understand is why it's all such a big secret anyway. I mean, you're about to have a kid together, good luck keeping that out the hands of the gossips!" 

"We kept it a secret to try and stop people from talking. You know how Duffy hates being the subject of departmental tittle tattle." 

"Come on, you work together and you sleep together - it happens all the time round here, it's hardly earth shattering news!" 

"But I'm her boss Josh. It won't look very professional." 

"Seriously mate, it's not like she's some 20-something year old bit of skirt! You're both grown ups who decided to enter into a relationship and have a child together. Nothing wrong with that."

"Well..."

"What?"

"It wasn't quite like that..."

"I don't follow." 

"Well, we, um... We were drunk." 

"Ah. I did wonder how you'd managed to get past all the pretenses that you both seemed to insist on putting in the way." 

"It happened, just the once, and I didn't handle it very well. I really hurt her. I didn't mean to but I did. We managed to sort things out but... I do want to make things right, make things proper..."

"What do you mean 'proper'? You don't mean..?"

"It doesn't matter, she'd say no anyway." 

"How can you be sure? Have you actually talked to her about it?"

"No, but..." 

"No buts! You need to talk to her properly. No more secrets and no more assumptions. They haven't done either of you any favours in the past. You can't hide from this forever you know. What if this poor kid comes out looking just like you?!"

-x-

About 45 minutes later Charlie found himself on Duffy's doorstep, Josh's words still ringing in his ears. He was right though, the situation couldn't really continue the way it was. He knocked on the door, he didn't want to risk waking Peter by ringing the doorbell. She opened the door. 

"Hi. Well this is a pleasant surprise! I thought you were off out with Josh tonight?" 

She wrapped her arms around him and they kissed. She then pulled him inside and closed the door behind them. 

"Yeh, um, change of plans so I thought I'd come see you. If that's ok?" 

She was confused, why was he suddenly so hesitant? They'd spent increasing amounts of time together over the last couple of months so why would he be nervous to come see her now? 

"Yeh of course. Is everything alright? Do you want a drink?" 

"No I'm fine. Let's sit down."

"Ok now you're really making me nervous! What the hell has happened?!" 

"I've just been thinking about when we go back to work in a few weeks time..."

"What about it? Please tell me you're not about to suggest I don't go back."

"I wasn't going to. I understand you'd want to go back to work for a month..."

"A month? I'll be there for 2 months at least, probably 2.5."

"2.5 months?! Please tell me you are joking?! You are not keeping working til mid-September!"

"Why not? I worked til that point with Peter."

"Yeh and I wasn't happy about that then either. I'm even less happy about it now."

"I'll be working part time, doing paperwork - my own plus yours too probably!" 

"I'll believe that when I see it! Look, that's not what I wanted to talk about. Though we will be revisiting that discussion another time so don't think I'm happy about it. I wanted to know what are you planning to tell everyone when we go back? About us?"

"I don't know, what do you want to tell them?" 

"I want to tell everyone the truth."

"Really? I would've thought you'd want to keep it quiet." 

"Why? I'm not ashamed! Are you?" 

"But you're the boss Charlie."

"So? You're in charge when I'm not there. You're avoiding the question." 

"I just don't want my personal life being fodder for the Holby gossip machine." 

"Unfortunately it's a bit late to be worrying about that."

"Why? What have you said?"

"Nothing. And neither have you. That's the problem."

"I don't understand."

"In the absence of actual facts the Holby gossip machine has done what it usually does and simply started making stuff up."

"I don't want to know do I?"

"Probably best not to no."

She sighed. 

"So you want us to go public? When?"

"There's that get-together at the pub week after next..."

"The one Mike's organising?" 

"Yeh that's right. We could, um, go together?" 

"Ok. Nothing showy though. We'll just keep it casual ok?" 

"Sure whatever you're happy with." 

"Well right now I'd be happy with an early night."

He gets up and starts to put his jacket back on. 

"Um where do you think you're going?" 

"Home?"

"You can stay here you know."

"Really?!" 

"Don't look at me so shocked. Upstairs. Now!"


	10. Chapter 10

Charlie peered in through the window of the pub. He and Duffy were the only ones left to arrive - they'd been held up waiting for her mum to arrive to look after Peter. He turned around to look at Duffy who was stood behind him looking fairly anxious. He grasped her hand in his, giving it a slight squeeze. 

"You ready? It'll be fine. It's just a drink with our friends."

They both took a deep breath and walked through the door. 

Mike was the first to spot them. He greeted them warmly. 

"Ah you're finally here! I was starting to worry that you'd gotten lost!" 

"Sorry, babysitter issues. We're here now though." Duffy replied. 

"Let's get you both a drink. There's a couple of new staff I'd like you to meet..."

-x-

Mike and Ash were talking to Adele - who would be joining the department as Sandra's replacement. 

"They make a cute couple." She said, indicating Charlie and Duffy who were stood together by the bar. 

The men laughed. "Those two?" Ash asked. "I think you'll find they're 'just good friends'" He rolled his eyes and mimed air quotes around the last part. 

"Really? So why have they been holding hands all evening?"

"They've always been pretty affectionate with each other. When they're not fighting that is!" Mike replied. 

"Well they certainly seem in a very affectionate mood right now!" She exclaimed, drawing their attention to the bar.

-x-

She was lent against the bar when he returned from the toilets. He slipped an arm around her back and, quickly checking they weren't being watched, seized the chance to give her a kiss. 

"How you feeling?"

"Tired, fat and achy." 

"Well you'll always look gorgeous to me." 

He began to massage her lower back. She gave him a grateful smile and lent her head against his shoulder. He used his other hand to tuck a stray piece of her hair behind her ear. He then caressed her cheek. She reached up and ran her hand through his hair and as her hand reached the back of his neck she pulled his head down and their lips met in a tender kiss.

-x-

"I feel like I should buy you a drink Adele, welcome you to the department properly." Mike said as he headed in the direction of the bar. 

"Oh, um, white wine would be lovely, thanks Mike." She replied. 

They arrived at the bar and Mike got the attention of the barman. 

"Can I have 2 pints, a glass of white wine and whatever those two are drinking when they come up for air?!" He said, raising his voice slightly towards the end to ensure he could be heard further down the bar. 

Upon hearing Mike's voice the pair had swiftly parted looking rather flushed. Duffy looked down at her fingernails, feeling slightly awkward. Charlie gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Um, a pint and an orange juice would be great, thanks Mike." 

"So... You two kept that quiet..." 

"A rare thing in this place!" Ash added. 

"Come on then, how long have you managed to keep this to yourselves?" Mike queried.

Charlie hesitated. Should he tell them the truth? Or would it be better to lie? Mike raised an eyebrow at his pause. 

"It's coming up to a year. You men really are terrible with dates!" Duffy replied rolling her eyes and smiling indulgently at Charlie. 

"A year?! Well you certainly played a blinder, I had no idea! Especially when the two of you seemed to be barely speaking to each other just after Christmas." Ash exclaimed. 

The pair laughed awkwardly. "Well these things happen, a lot was going on." Charlie mumbled. 

Sensing a shift in the mood Mike interjected. "Well I think it's great news. Though you do realise that this kid is going to be the most stubborn child on the planet!" 

"I don't know what you mean I'm not stubborn at all." Charlie replied. Duffy let out a short laugh in response. 

"You keep telling yourself that Charlie. Let's all of us grab that table." Mike replied indicating a large table near the window. They sat down. "I imagine you two have already got a plan of action worked out for the nurses ready for the department reopening?" 

"You think that's all we have to talk about at home Mike? Work?" Duffy laughed. 

"Fair point. It'll be good to get back there though. I'd very quickly gotten used to the place."

"I had a quick look around there the other day. It's amazing how quickly they've gotten everything ready. I always suspected the government had extra money stashed away somewhere that they weren't letting us have. Now I know I was right!" Charlie said. 

Duffy smiled, sat back and let the conversation flow around her as the others railed against the faceless suits in government and politics in general. She was just glad that things between her and Charlie were out in the open, even if they had had to resort to the odd little white lie. It was nice for once to just be a normal couple on a night out with friends. Before long they'd all be back at work together and the jugganaut that was Holby city emergency department would sweep them all up and along on another unstoppable adventure.


	11. Chapter 11

Charlie stuck his head into his office only to find it empty. Not again! They'd already had this row several times. They'd agreed she could continue working a week longer than he'd been happy with - which was two weeks less than she'd wanted to work - but only on the proviso that she stuck to paperwork and triage. He'd just come from the triage area so knew she wasn't there. She didn't seem to understand that he had her best interests at heart, no, she'd just see it as him being overbearing and interfering again! 

He walked into the admin area. He spotted Mike and Adele chatting by the desk. 

"Have either of you seen Duffy recently?"

Though they tried to hide it he spotted the sideways glance they exchanged. 

"Um... I think she was headed for the staff room last I saw her." Adele replied. 

Charlie sighed. They were clearly covering for her. He left them and walked towards the cubicles. 

He'd almost reached the last cubicle when he heard her voice. 

"Mr Simpson I can't help you if you won't stay still!"

A commotion followed and then a crash. Charlie was instantly at the cubicle, pulling back the curtain. A tray of equipment was lying on the floor. Mr Simpson, clearly drunk, was half slumped on the trolley. Duffy was in the middle of attempting to remove his shirt so she could start cleaning up a superficial but quite nasty looking cut on his chest. 

"Ash, can you take over dealing with Mr Simpson please?" He then turned to Duffy, "How about you and I have a chat?" 

Duffy rolled her eyes at him and followed him towards his office. Once there she took a seat and he closed the door behind them. 

"I know what you're going to say Charlie. I had the situation under control."

"You call that under control? The equipment tray was scattered all over the floor. Leaving aside for a moment how it got there in the first place, how exactly were you planning to pick it all back up again?" 

"I'm not totally incapable!" 

"I'm not saying you are but you're eight months pregnant! Have some sense!" 

Her only response was to scowl at him. 

"So tell me, how did the tray come to fall on the floor?" Duffy avoided eye contact. "Let me guess, the patient sent it flying there, didn't he?" She started to fiddle with her fingernails. "What if he'd lashed out at you? He could have really hurt you! And the baby!" His voice was getting louder, he tried to keep things calm but his fears got the better of him.

A tear rolled down her cheek. Charlie noticed this and immediately bent down to take her in his arms. 

"I'm sorry for shouting, I shouldn't have but I wish you'd just stick to what we agreed. It's for your own safety."

-x-

The next few hours passed without further issues until a major incident call sent Charlie heading back into his office. As he entered Duffy spoke without looking up. 

"I'm doing the paperwork, you don't have to keep checking up on me!" 

"I'm not, I just came to get this." She looked up to see he was holding a hi-vis jacket with "nurse" written across the back. "There's been a major incident, a commuter train hit a car on a level crossing as it was approaching a tunnel. They've requested a medical team to head over. Mike and I are going." 

"What?! Can't someone else go?" A concerned look crossed her face. 

"No." 

"Promise me you'll be careful!" 

"Of course I will, I'm always careful." 

She raised an eyebrow in response. 

"Everything will be fine. We attend these kinds of calls all the time." 

"Time to go Charlie!" Mike called as he passed the doorway. 

"Right, I'll see you later." He lent over and gave her a quick kiss. Her hand lingered briefly on his cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too." She replied as he left the room to follow Mike. 

-x-

The further they ventured into the carriage that was on its side in the tunnel the more seriously injured patients they encountered. On the far side of the carriage they could hear the muffled cries of a young woman. Her legs were trapped by a collapsed seat. Part of the carriage had also fallen, blocking access to her. The firemen had managed to clear some of the debris but it was slow going. She was fading in and out of consciousness. 

"I think I could fit through that gap and get to her." Charlie declared over the sound of creaking from above them. 

"We need to wait til the firemen have cleared more space and shored up the roof." Josh replied, looking up anxiously as there was another loud crack from above. 

"She doesn't have that kind of time, Josh! At the very least I can get to her, reassure her and give her some fluids." 

His facial expression showed that he was not going to argue further. He bent down and started to crawl through the space. 

"Hi, I'm Charlie, I'm a nurse. We're going to help you. What's your name?" 

"Sophie." 

"Ok Sophie, I'm going to put this into your arm. It might sting a bit but it'll make you feel better." 

He was just starting to make progress with assessing her injuries when there was another crack, louder this time, followed by alarmed shouting and then everything suddenly went black.

-x-

Back at the hospital it was chaos. Patients were arriving almost faster than they could be assessed. Even if she'd wanted to, there was no way that Duffy could simply sit back in the office and let the others get on with dealing with the influx. It was all hands on deck. 

Making her way through the crowded corridor wasn't the easiest of tasks but she plowed on. The cubicles were full and they'd had to place a couple of extra trolleys in resus to deal with the demand in there. She spotted an empty trolley in a doorway. She took hold of it and started to move it back into the corridor. Spotting a passing porter she asked him to help her take it through to resus. 

After that was done she made her way back through to admin to check on the situation there. As she entered she saw Adele place the radio back in its holster with a horrified look on her face. 

"We got more injuries incoming? How serious?" Duffy asked her. 

"Um... That was Jane. She says there's been a further collapse inside the tunnel..." 

"Ok we're going to need more space in resus. I'll see if I can get some of the patients currently in there moved upstairs." 

"Duffy wait! The carriage that collapsed, Charlie and Josh, they were in there at the time..." 

Adele shot out an arm towards Duffy as she saw the other woman's face go pale and her knees buckle slightly. Duffy shook it away as she gripped the side of the desk and took a deep breath. 

"Duffy why don't you go have a sit down and a drink of water in the staff room, we can handle things out here."

Duffy glanced around at the crowded cubicle area. "No, we all need to keep working, there's too much that needs doing to stop. There'll be time for breaks later." 

With that Duffy was off, heading back towards resus. 

-x- 

Over the next hour she tried to keep herself occupied checking on patients and ensuring that everyone had everything they needed. She tried to keep her mind from dwelling on the situation with Charlie. He'd be ok, he had to be ok! She paused as yet again a pain in her side briefly took her breath away. It was just the stress of the day causing Braxton Hicks again. Well that's what she chose to tell herself anyway. She took a few more steps along the corridor before a much stronger pain struck her and this time she felt a warm trickle of fluid down the inside of her leg.


	12. Chapter 12

As the dust settled Charlie began to check if he'd sustained any injuries. He could feel both his legs and move them slightly. It felt like they were pinned by something but he was unable to wriggle sufficiently to see what. His arms were ok too. His back hurt, probably from being hit by falling debris during the collapse. Luckily the seat nearest him had protected his head from the worst of it. 

He reached out a hand. "Sophie, can you hear me?" There was a small groan as he touched her arm. 

A thought suddenly hit him. "Josh! Josh! Where are you? Are you ok?" There was no response. It looked like he might have to try and find a way out of this mess by himself. 

-x- 

She'd somehow managed to make it to the staffroom without anyone stopping her to ask questions. After a slight struggle she managed to change her clothes and reached for the painkillers in her bag. Swallowing two she knew from experience that they wouldn't really do much but she needed something to take the edge off, she needed to carry on. Her mind was spinning, why was this happening now? This wasn't how it was supposed to be! She could feel that she was on the verge of tears. She couldn't allow that to happen, if she started to cry then she'd lose control completely. She stared at her reflection in the small mirror on her locker door. She swallowed the tears down, took a deep breath and said aloud "I can do this!" She then walked back out into the busy department. 

-x-

Time was an abstract concept for Charlie. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours that had passed when he suddenly heard a shout. "Charlie! Charlie, if you can hear me make a noise!" 

"Mike! You need to get in here quick, I'm not sure how much longer I can keep her going."

"What about you, are you ok? 

"Don't worry about me! She's bleeding out but I can't see where from." 

"Ok we're coming as quickly as we can."

-x- 

Josh had suffered abrasions and a mild concussion. Though he had refused to leave the scene to obtain treatment until they'd gotten Charlie out. That, however, was proving tricky. The carriage was a tangled mess of twisted metal and the slightest wrong move could cause another collapse. 

The head of the fire crew had declared that no medical personnel were to be allowed into the carriage until it had been cleared by his team as safe to access. 

"How long will that take? We need to get them out now." Mike stated. 

"It's a very delicate process. I'd say at least 3 hours, possibly 4 at the most." 

"4 hours?! We don't have 4 hours! That woman will die if we can't help her soon and goodness knows how injured Charlie is." 

Jane came over holding her radio. "The hospital want an update, what should I tell them?" 

Mike and Josh exchanged a pained look. What the hell could they tell them? Tell her? 

"Charlie is alive but it could take up to 4 hours to get him out. We're not sure how injured he is yet so when you talk to them please whatever you do don't speak to Duffy! Ash, Adele, anyone else! But not her!" Mike replied. 

-x-

"...ok, thanks for the update. Over and out"

Adele placed the radio back in it's holster and shared an anxious look with Ash. One of them needed to go find Duffy and break the news to her. 

"Don't worry, I'll go find her." Adele said. 

After searching the department for several minutes Adele came to the only place left to look - the ladies toilets. She'd barely gotten the door open when she heard the sound of violent retching. 

"Duffy? Is that you? It's Adele, let me help you."

The door of the cubicle opened and Adele could see Duffy on the floor slumped against the toilet, clutching her stomach in pain, her face deathly pale and streaked with tears. 

"Oh ok, it's ok, keep your breathing steady. You're going to be ok." She crouched down beside her. 

"Get Charlie! I need him here!" Duffy cried. 

"I can't, I wish I could but I can't." 

"He should be here, why isn't he here?"

"You remember the train crash, there was a cave in. They're working to get to him but it's going to take time. He's ok though, Josh and Mike are with him, they've spoken to him. He'll be here as soon as he can but in the meantime we need to focus on you."

"I can't do this without him." More tears cascaded down her cheeks. 

"I'll help you, you'll be ok. You're a tough cookie. Now when did the pains start?" 

"About 3 hours ago I think. I assumed they were more Braxton Hicks - I've been having those for..." Her words were cut off as another pain gripped her. 

"Ok. Have your waters broken?" Duffy nodded. "When?" "About two hours ago..." Alarm bells went off in Adele's head. Why the hell hadn't Duffy said anything?! She needed to get Duffy up off the floor and onto a trolley to be examined. 

-x-

Back at the crash progress was painfully slow. Charlie could tell that Sophie had stopped breathing but there was nothing he could do to help her from his present position. 

"How you doing in there Charlie?" Mike shouted from outside the carriage. 

"Well I don't wish to alarm you but my left leg is starting to go numb. I think the metal is pinching a nerve." 

"Ok I'll see what I can do." Mike turned and was about to speak to the fire rescue team when Jane came running back over, an alarmed look on her face. 

"Are they close to getting Charlie out yet? The hospital just radioed, Duffy's collapsed. It's the baby!" 

"Shit!" Josh swore. "I've had enough of this!" He turned to the head of the rescue team. "Look, you need to let us in there now, his girlfriend is in labour and he will kill me if he misses the birth of his first child! Sod your rules and procedures, I'm willing to take the risk." Before anyone could stop him he slipped through the gap in the side of the carriage. 

He picked his way carefully over to where the rescue crew were removing the debris. He saw immediately that the main issue was a large metal post that was laid across the carriage. He turned to the two firemen. 

"If you two were to brace that post up slightly higher I could probably reach under and drag him out." 

"Don't be stupid, one slip and that all comes down on you too!" The fireman replied pointing up towards the cracked carriage ceiling. 

"I'd only need 30 seconds, a minute at most. Then once Charlie is out we can probably get better access to the girl, maybe even use cutting equipment?" 

"Ok, you ready? 1, 2, 3!"


	13. Chapter 13

Josh and Charlie landed with a crash. Mad as it was Josh's plan had worked. They scrambled out of the wrecked carriage and Mike gave Charlie a quick assessment. Putting his friend's arm around his shoulder, Josh helped Charlie limp to the ambulance. 

"Right Jane, time to make good use of that lead foot of yours! Let's go!"

"Why the hurry? There's something you're all not telling me." Charlie queried.

"Well... Um..."

"Josh!"

"We got a call from the hospital..."

"Oh hell! Is she ok?!"

"She collapsed. She's being looked after though. She's been asking for you."

Charlie put his head in his hands and rubbed them across his face. If something had happened to them because of him... He'd never forgive himself. He'd promised her that he'd be careful, what a stupid promise that was to make. He felt Josh's hand come to rest on his shoulder. 

"She'll be ok Charlie. She's too stubborn not to be."

The rest of the journey was spent in relative quiet - the only noises being the whine of the ambulance sirens and the occasional blare of the horn. After what seemed like an age to the two men the ambulance rounded the corner and screeched to a halt in the ambulance bay. 

The men limped and stumbled as fast as they could into reception. They shouted across to Norma. "Where is she?" 

Norma opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by a scream coming from Charlie's office. The men looked at each other. No! She wouldn't... Of course she would! 

Charlie crashed through the door to find Duffy sat lent against the side of the desk. Her hair was damp and tangled, her face was reddened and she'd clearly been crying. 

"Ok the baby's head is crowning, I really need you to dig in now sweetheart! It's almost over, you can do this." Adele instructed. 

Charlie snapped out of the daze he'd found himself in, crouched down on the floor next to Duffy and placed his hand on her arm. 

"I'm here with you, you can do this." He whispered. 

Her eyes flickered in his direction but he wasn't sure if she was really aware. She screwed her eyes shut and bore down letting out a scream as she did. 

"Ok, that's the head. Well done. Just breath for a second and when you're ready one last push is all we'll need to finally meet this baby." 

Her hand shot out in his direction, her fingers grasping the air. He took hold of her hand and stroked the back of it with his fingers. She took a deep breath and pushed hard, the sound that escaped her lips was like nothing he'd ever heard from her before. Her energy spent she collapsed against his chest. 

For a few heart stopping seconds there was no sound from the baby. Duffy began to sob quietly. 

Adele placed her finger into the baby's mouth to clear it's airway. It was so tiny! She gave it a little rub with the towel. A little cry was heard. She then handed the baby to Duffy. 

"Congratulations you two, she's a beautiful baby girl! I'll leave you in peace for a few minutes while I go check where the hell that obs registrar has gotten to! I won't be long." 

Duffy looked up from the baby to smile at Charlie. "You made it in time."

"I wouldn't have missed this for the world. You were incredible." 

He reached out a finger and stroked it along his daughter's cheek. She opened her eyes to look at him, she had her mother's eyes. His heart exploded with love, he'd do anything for her - he knew from experience that one look from those eyes was all it took, any resistance he tried to build would be shattered. 

Before he'd had chance to fully form the thoughts in his head the words were out his mouth.

"Marry me!" 

"What?!" Surely she was hearing things. 

"I mean it. You're my world. When I was trapped earlier the thing that got me through was thinking of you, that I had to get back to you. And then watching you, fighting with every ounce of yourself to bring our daughter into the world. I love you so much, I want to make this forever. It's no longer you and me against the world kid, now it's you, me, Peter and our daughter fighting together - nothing can stop us." 

"Wow! Er..." She saw a look of panic enter his eyes. He feared he'd gone too far, said too much. 

She smiled softly. 

"Of course I will Charlie boy, of course I'll marry you."


	14. Chapter 14

Due to her dramatic entry into the world and small size the little baby girl had needed to spend a few days in hospital. But now it was time for her to go home. 

"I bet the staff here will be glad to see the back of us. She must think she's royalty the amount of visitors she's had!" Duffy chuckled as she finished wrapping her daughter up warmly for the journey home. 

"Well you are aren't you? You're daddy's little princess." 

-x-

The drive back to Duffy's house had been very slow but uneventful. Peter was spending the morning with his dad so the house was quiet as they entered. There were several envelopes and a few packages sat on the dining table. 

"You two go get settled on the sofa and I'll bring this lot through for us to have a look at." Charlie said, heading towards the table. 

Flicking through the envelopes they saw that the majority had come from various friends. Duffy was most intrigued by one of the packages. Placing her now sleeping daughter into her crib she pulled the package towards her and immediately recognised the handwriting on the label - Megan. 

The package contained a wooden jewelry box. It was beautiful - clearly handmade and across the lid was engraved "Beth Megan Fairhead". Inside there were two envelopes - one addressed to Charlie and Duffy, the other addressed to Beth - and a tiny silver bangle. She opened the first envelope and read the letter contained within. 

Dearest Charlie and Duffy, 

Congratulations on the safe arrival of little Beth. I look forward to meeting her once you've all had chance to settle in. 

I was very honoured by your choice of name. I've always held you both in great esteem and affection. That's why I've sometimes gotten frustrated and remonstrated with you both, but it was only ever with your best interests at heart. 

I still believe my actions several years ago were correct. It allowed you to develop the deep friendship that you share now. Regardless of anything else, never lose sight of that. 

The letter I have included for Beth is for her to open on her 21st birthday. Just a few words of wisdom from someone who has seen much of this life. Though if she's anywhere near as stubborn as the pair of you I doubt she'll pay any heed whatsoever! 

Best wishes,

Megan x

Folding the letter back into the envelope Duffy smiled. Her thoughts were interrupted by noises coming from the hallway. 

"Peter! I told you outside that you need to be quiet around babies! Please do as you're told." Kate said in a frustrated whisper. 

Peter clearly wasn't listening however as he came barreling into the lounge. Beth had been awoken by the commotion but luckily hadn't started to cry. 

"Did you bring the baby home with you mummy?" He asked. 

"Yes we did. If come here quietly you can meet your little sister." 

Out the corner of her eye Duffy saw her mum start to open her mouth, Duffy quickly silenced her with a look. She wasn't about to have that argument with her mother again, especially not in front of Peter. 

"Why is she so little?" 

"You were once that little too and look at you now! She'll soon catch up and be chasing after you in the garden." Charlie replied. 

-x- 

Later that evening after Peter was tucked up in bed fast asleep and Beth was having a nap in her crib, Duffy went into the kitchen to make herself and Charlie a cup of tea. Charlie had tried to offer to get them but she'd insisted. She opened a cupboard and, reaching behind a tin of beans, retrieved the item she'd really come into the kitchen to collect. She placed it in her pocket and continued to make the tea. 

Walking back through to the lounge she placed the cups on the table and snuggled up to Charlie on the sofa. Several minutes passed while they drank their tea in a comfortable silence. 

"Erm, Charlie, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?" 

"Well, I meant to ask you weeks ago but could never find the right time and, well, now seems like a good time, if there's such a thing as a good time..." 

"You're rambling Duff!" 

"Um, yeh, I'm making a total hash of this aren't I?" He waited for her to continue. "Oh, here! I wanted you to have these." She reached into her pocket and handed him a set of keys. 

"You wanted me to have a set of keys?" 

"Yeh, I thought that maybe you could move in here? Only if you wanted to of course." 

"Well, while we're exchanging gifts, I got this for you." He reached into his pocket, took out a small box and placed it on the coffee table. 

Letting out a girlish giggle she grabbed the box and opened it. Inside was a white gold ring with four small diamonds set into it. She noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning around she saw that Charlie had gotten down on one knee. 

"Let's do this properly shall we? Will you marry me?" 

"Yes!" She squealed and threw her arms around him. 

He hadn't expected her to leap at him so before he realised what was happening he found himself falling backwards. He shot his hand out towards the sofa to try and break their fall but it was no use. As they hit the floor they both let out pained groans as various muscles complained at the mistreatment. They lay there for a moment catching their breath before Charlie began to chuckle. 

"You're insane." He declared. 

"You wouldn't have me any other way though." She smirked. 

"That's true. Now seeing as we're down here..." He cups her face with both his hands and seals their engagement with a kiss.


End file.
